Instinct and Emotion
by Mitsuki-senpai
Summary: Emotions are blinding. Insticts save your life. So why is it so hard to ignore the emotions? Sasusaku.
1. Runaway

Okay, new chapter story, yay. I wrote this randomly last night, erm, well, morning technically... So I think I kinda rambled a bit on it. I tried fixing it up and whatnot, but I'm not completely confident I did the best I could to be honest. So sorry if it is.

Review, please. Constructive critisms will be extremely appreciated.

* * *

She ran and ran, until she was miles away. She fell onto her knees, crouching over the root of a tree. Her stomach was churning, and her heart felt as if it would jump right out of her chest.

Sakura had done it. She ran away from the village.

It had finally been decided. It was decided Sasuke Uchiha was going to be a start of a great ninja war, and so, in protection of the treaties the villages worked so hard to get, every village sent their best Black-Ops on a mission to find and assassinate the Uchiha. She knew it was coming, and she tried her hardest to prepare for it. She thought she was over him. She saw how far he had fallen, and she knew he wasn't the same. He tried to kill her multiple times. She knew she shouldn't have cared, or had even been happy about it.

Yet, why? Why did she still run away?

Naruto, who was by far more of a friend, hell, actually Sasuke's best friend, took the news better than Sakura. Sure, he was angry and disappointed, but even he knew there was nothing more to be done. It had been five years after all. If Naruto could accept the consequence, why couldn't she? She couldn't possibly still love him. She had absolutely no reason to. She loved him when she knew him, when they were both twelve-year old genins. Now they were seventeen. She was a jounin, and he was a rouge ninja. She knew that he was not the same from years past. She saw that in his eyes. Revenge consumed him.

There's no way she, of all people, could bring him back.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She coughed violently then began to vomit, despite having an empty stomach. The vile tasting acid burned her mouth. When she finally stopped, she tried to spit out as much of the clear, disgusting tasting liquid as she could. She stood up slowly and leaned her back against the tree, panting heavily. She looked up at the eerie, grey rolling clouds. Small rubles began to turn into loud ones. She could see flashes of light slowly come closer. Everything around her seemed to fit her mood- miserable. She was angry, confused, and frustrated, almost to the point where she could cry.

Sakura took in slow, deep breaths. She began to walk forward, despite the fact she didn't know where she was going. At this point, she didn't even care. She knew she couldn't go back right now. It'd kill her if she did. She just needed to be somewhere, alone. Somewhere peaceful, somewhere to just clean her mind. Where she could cry her eyes out and scream, or destroy a tree or two, and not be questioned about it. She just needed a release.

Thirty minutes and about three miles later, she stopped once again. She stood silently and still for a few moments, then built up her chakra to her hand and punched the ground. The earth shattered beneath her, spreading out for what seemed like a mile. She concentrated her chakra to her feet this time, kicking down the trees that surrounded her. She continued until she collapsed onto her knees, barely managing to take in breaths. She was so consumed by her emotions, she hadn't even realized she was crying.

Her mind began to flood with past memories. A timeline of memories: the day she was assigned to Team 7; the first time Sasuke protected her; the countless times he rejected dates with her. The first time she told him he loved him; the last day she saw him; the last time he thanked her.

Then, they worked their way towards the present. The first time she saw him after Naruto returned; the first time her tried to kill her. The next time she ran into him; the time he tried to kill her again.

He had changed considerably. He once used to do everything to try to protect her, and now he tried the exact opposite.

It was obvious he had given up on them. So why couldn't she do the same?

A loud rumble canceled out her thoughts. The sky had finally opened and was releasing buckets of water upon the ground. She continued forward, until something off in the distance caught her eyes. There was something, or someone, lying on the ground. The closer she got, the more she realized it was indeed someone. She ran over to them, only to see they were already deceased. There was a blood stain by his stomach, along with deep cuts along the man's arms and legs. Suddenly, she recognized the outfit, which was confirmed by the mask by his hand. He was an ANBU ninja from Konoha. An ANBU ninja that was actually killed. Her mind became frantic. She studied his wound for a moment, concluding he was dealt a final blow with a sword. One person automatically came to mind, but she pushed the thought away.

She cautiously stepped in her original direction, only to see four more ANBU dead where they lied. All of them with the same type of deadly wounds-pierced with a sword. Again, she thought he must've been the one to do this, but she once again, pushed the thought away.

Only problem was, her thought was proved correct when she found him a few feet away, collapsed on the ground. He had taken what would normally be a fatal amount of damage, especially with the amount of blood loss, but he was still alive. He was simply unconscious. She stared wide-eyed, frozen in her tracks, wondering what the hell to do. Because this was one of the few times, no, most likely one of the only times...

...That Sasuke Uchiha would be vulnerable.


	2. Favor for a favor

Ah, this is gonna be a fun one for me to write, I can tell already. Well, I really don't have much to say, so enjoy.

* * *

Sakura took a step closer to the limp figure ahead of her. Her eyes remained wide from pure shock, her arm slowly reached to her side pouch, with her fingers shuffling softly through, until one looped around a handle. She took another step forward. Her arm made it's way in front of her, her hand holding the kunai in an offensive position. The kunai in her hand began to tremble. The closer she got, the more violent the trembles became. She finally was within a few feet of Sasuke, standing over him as her entire body trembled, with the exception of her hands that shook violently. Her eyes welled with tears once again. She began sobbing, just like when she was younger.

_I have to do it..._ she thought.

_I have to be the one to kill him!_

_

* * *

_

Naruto roamed around the training grounds.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan!"

No reply.

Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of the loud blonde. He asked for good news, but Naruto simply shook his head. Sai was the next one to appear, telling that he could not find the pink-haired kunoichi either. They had all been searching the entire village since early afternoon. Seven hours had passed since then, and now, the sky was growing darker (besides already being dark from the grey rain clouds). The three sighed in unison, knowing what they had to do.

A few minutes later, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sai arrived in the Hokage's office. Tsunade remained turned away from them, looking out at the light rainfall. The three stood perfectly still in the awkward and tense situation.

"Did you find her?" she inquired, fully knowing the answer.  
"No. We've confirmed she's not in the village."

She remained silent for a few moments.

"You are absolutely sure about this?" she asked.  
"Positive."

Her head lowered. She released a somber sigh. She then turned around to face the three ninjas.

"I will give her three days. This is the most I can do for her. If she does not return within the time limit, she will be considered and labeled a missing-nin," she announced sternly.  
"But then, what should we do?" Naruto shouted.  
"You will do _nothing,_" she said as she glared at him. "This is an order, you will now be allowed to go after her just yet. Now, dismissed."

Naruto mumbled angrily and stormed out of the office, with Kakashi and Sai calmly following. Tsunade sighed once more, placing her elbows on the desk and leaning her head against the side of her palms.

_She just needs to cool off..._ she told herself.

_Sakura... You better come back._

_

* * *

_

Sasuke opened his eyes slightly, which immediately shot open when his mind processed that he was in a different setting from what he last remembered. Instead of being in a forest as he remembered, he was now in a dark cave. He sat up sharply, noticing the bandages on his chest and arms, along with the mostly healed wounds. He looked to his left, seeing his kusanagi blade lying on the ground. Then, he sharply turned his head to the right, staring into the figure's eyes, despite the fact that he could only make out a silhouette. The only thing that was shown was a fair-toned flesh knee.

"You," he began in a deathly tone, "who are you?"

A small gulp was heard. The person remained silent.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear..."

Sasuke grabbed his sword and pointed it at the neck of the shadowy figure.

"Now tell me, who are you?"  
"S-Sasu-ke...Kun..."

His eyes narrowed angrily as he recognized the voice.

"You... Why did you heal me? What are you planning to do?"  
"N-nothing, I swear..."  
"Oh, really?" he snickered. "Then where's Naruto and Kakashi? Aren't they going to drag me home?" he mocked.  
"I'm alone... They're in the village."

Sasuke let out a dark laugh that frightened Sakura to her core.

"Hm?"  
"I ran... Away..."

Sasuke laughed again, completely amused by the situation. Sakura looked at him in horror, seeing that his sanity seemed to have not been with him at that moment. He calmed down, seemingly going back to his more familiar mood.

"You may be of use to me. I've needed a healer to replace Karin."  
"W-What makes you think I'd follow you?" Sakura yelled in an attempt to reassert herself.

Sasuke pushed the blade against her neck a bit more.

"Either that, or be killed," he stated.

She gulped. Knowing her decision, he put aside his sword.

_Just what am I getting myself into...? _she thought.

_

* * *

_

Two hours had passed, even though they felt like an eternity. Sakura remainded quiet, sitting in the exact same spot the entire time. She didn't dare speak, or even look at Sasuke; she felt any type of action like that would result to her immediate death. Despite how terrified she looked on the outside, she was furious on the inside.

_Why did I do that? _she thought._ I could've killed him! No, _I should've_ killed him! God damn it all..._

Suddenly, she felt eyes staring at her. Trying her best to ignore it, she stared out of the cave opening, seeing that the rain had turned into a light drizzle. She stood up, hurridly walking to the opening.

"I'm going to look for some berries, or something edible to eat. Some herbs too. You'll need it."

She heard his sword fidget. She spun around, welcomed by the tip of his sword close to her chest. His eyes pierced into hers.

"Don't be gone long, the sun is about to set," he said sternly.  
"Yea, I know."

She turned around to leave again, when he spoke once more.

"And remember, the only reason you're alive is because of this."  
"Yea... I know."

She rushed out of the cave and walked far enough until she was out of his sight. She leaned against a tree and slumped down, letting out a relieved sigh. After a few moments of enjoying peace, she looked around in bushes for herbs and berries. As she looked, she couldn't help but ask herself more questions. It was true she didn't know what compelled her to save him, but she did know she was deeply regretting it. She knew if she did not make good use of herself to him, he'd kill her in an instant. And now, she couldn't even runaway.

She finished stuffing her bag with herbs and berries, and began to head back to the cave.

_Dear, God... Let something good come out of this..._

_

* * *

_

(A/N) Well, when I first wrote this, I was debating for a while if I made Sasuke a little too O.O.C. with the whole 'lost sanity' bit, but then I remembered the last time Sakura ran into him, and well, he snapped. In that scene, Sasuke was put in a very odd situation, and well, found it amusing to be saved by an ex-teammate when he fully knows she could've killed him. Just wanted to explain that little bit, hope you agree. ^^;_  
_


End file.
